


Yule preparations

by Jiiri



Series: Yuletide 2019 SSSS Fan Forum [3]
Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Festivals, Fluff, Food, Gay Male Character, Hugs, Kissing, M/M, Magic, Sharing a Bed, Yule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22188763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jiiri/pseuds/Jiiri
Summary: Lalli and Emil are boyfriends and are preparing for Yule in the Västerström household in Mora. A little mystery and lots of fluffy sweetness ensues.Written for the SSSSecret Santa 2019 on the Fan Forum, for Oripoke (who graciously agreed to publish it here). The Yuletide 2019 series is not meant to be a continuum, these are separate one-offs.
Relationships: Lalli Hotakainen/Emil Västerström
Series: Yuletide 2019 SSSS Fan Forum [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1597210
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Yule preparations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Oripoke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oripoke/gifts).



**18th December, early morning**

Emil was woken early by Lalli pulling their blankets and pillows from him and burying himself underneath. Sounds of argument were coming in from the hallway. Anna was screaming. “Muu-um! Sune took half of my candies!” “I did not!” “You did too!” “DID NOT” “I saw you close my drawer! Give them here!”… 

Sighing, Emil snug into Lalli’s den of pillows. “Don’t worry, they’ll tire of it soon” he soothed the Finn and placed his own hands on top of Lalli’s, blocking the Finn’s ears. “You know, the kids are stressed too. It’s all the excitement.” “Mmm-hmm” Lalli agreed by making one of his sounds. He was still looking upset, but gradually he relaxed a little. He took his hands off his ears and pulled Emil in for a hug. Lalli calmed himself by resting his head on Emil’s shoulder and stroking his hair. After a moment of cuddling they went back to sleep, Lalli curled into a ball in Emil’s arms 

**19th December, evening**

”Eeemill!” Torbjörn’s voice emanated from the living / radio room. He didn’t sound happy. “What is it?” Emil arrived at Torbjörn holding up an expensive-looking slender bottle. “Have you boys been to my akvavit? I bought this particular bottle for Yule, it’s a very nice brand!” “No, we haven’t! We wouldn’t take any without asking!” “Well, look, a quarter is gone!” “I know nothing about that!” Siv stepped in. “Emil, dear, you know you can be like in your own home here. But if you want something, please ask. Things specifically meant for Yule are…” “I haven’t drunk it! And neither has Lalli!” “Are you sure?” Torbjörn inquired. “Yes, I’m sure. I would smell it on him!” Emil was indignant. As if Lalli would steal from his family! 

“Dear, maybe you have drunk it yourself. I’ve noticed you have a glass every night.” Siv was looking at a now mortified Torbjörn. “Not that I blame you, it’s the most stressful time of the year! I’m just saying that it’s possible you were the one to mistake the bottles."

**20th December, afternoon**

Emil and Siv had been baking Yule cookies all day, and the fruits of their labor were cooling on the kitchen table and counters. Emil popped upstairs. Coming back down he came across Lalli, happily munching a star-shaped cookie. “Lalli! We just finished them! I hope you asked Siv!” 

“Mrnnh!” Lalli scowled at him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” Emil put his arm around Lalli’s shoulders placatingly. “But seriously. How many did you eat?” *Grumble grumble* “…two”. “Oh, that’s ok. Please don’t take more without asking, ok?” “Mrhm.” Lalli wandered upstairs towards their room. 

Emil found Siv in the kitchen looking puzzled. The previously neat rows of cookies were in disarray. “Oh dear! Aunt Siv, I’m sorry. Lalli took a couple. You know he has a sweet tooth.” “Two is ok, but… how many did we bake? There are less than I had hoped. Maybe we should make another batch. Put the apron back on!” 

**21st December, late afternoon**

Siv was making preparing the decorations in the kitchen. “Dear, I asked you to bring twelve candles!” “I did!” “No, honey, there are only ten here.” “What in the name of… I’m sure I bought twelve. I swear!” “Honey, you know how absent-minded you get when you are stressed!” “Yes, but I… I’ll get more tomorrow. I’m sorry.” “That’s the spirit, dear! Come over and give me a kiss!” 

**22nd December, early afternoon**

Emil walked in on Aunt Siv going through their bed. “Oh! Aunt Siv! What’s going on?” Siv was looking mildly embarrassed. “Oh, hello Emil. I’m sorry” “What is it?” Emil was frantically thinking what Siv could possibly want to learn from their sheets and blankets. 

“It’s nothing, I’m sorry. A lot of things have gone missing lately, and I… I was checking just in case there was some misunderstanding here. I know Lalli’s Swedish isn’t very good and…” “Are you accusing my boyfriend of stealing?!” “No, I’m not. You know I like Lalli and I love the fact you two are together. I was just thinking that maybe there was some reason he thought… never mind. There isn’t anything here anyways. I’m sorry.” 

After his embarrassed aunt had left the room, Emil had to admit to himself it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Lalli had taken some sweets without asking. He still wasn’t used to the way there was enough to go around at any time. But candles? That was just silly! 

He did nevertheless take a look at Lalli’s den under the bed but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Assuming, of course, that “ordinary” included the fact his boyfriend occasionally wanted to sleep under the bed. _And that I have a boyfriend!_ Emil mused. 

**22nd December, evening**

The kids were putting up decorations of straw and tinsel. Lalli didn’t usually care for their company, but now he was sitting fixated in place, admiring the tiny ornaments. Emil stepped behind him and started to rub his shoulders lightly. “You like them?” Affirmative “Mmm-hm” from Lalli. 

“Would you like to put some of them up?” Emil handed Lalli a glittering string of tiny stars. “You can hang this on the tree, or the shelves, or wherever you like”. Lalli sat, considering, for a long time. Then he pulled Emil close and sat him to the couch with him. 

Wearing a frown of concentration, he started arranging the star string into Emil’s hair. He wrapped and tugged and weaved the string into Emil’s locks. It should have been silly, but Emil was moved by Lalli’s care and concern. To finalize his work, Lalli pulled the larger star at the end to Emil’s forehead. Then he snuggled his face to Emil’s neck. “Star boy.” Lalli whispered. “My beautiful.” They sat together, Emil’s arm around Lalli’s shoulders, and enjoyed the evening. 

When it was time to go to bed, Emil almost couldn’t bring himself to take the string off his head. But the stars would have prickled him and Lalli, so he did, and wrapped it on the bedpost. In the morning it wasn’t there. 

**23rd December, evening**

Emil was taking a nice relaxing shower. Finally, the Yule was upon them and the stressful preparations were nearly finished. When he stepped out of the shower, he found his towel crumpled and wet. This was an irritating surprise, as he had changed all the linens just that same morning and put out the best and whitest towels and sheets for everyone. 

As he was dripping wet, there was nothing to it, so he took his unsatisfactory towel. The remains of a familiar scent wafted to his nose. The towel smelled faintly of forest. _Lalli_. 

“Why did you use my towel? It wasn’t nice to dry myself when it was wet already.” Lalli looked at him as if he was being weird. “Why are you giving me the eye, you silly Finn? It was my towel!”. Lalli took Emil’s hand “Come”. 

He led Emil back to the bathroom and indicated his own peg. It was empty. “What? I did put a towel for you as well! I actually picked the nicest and softest one for you, I know how you feel about rough towels”. Lalli rolled his eyes and went back to their room. Emil sighed and went to the linen cupboard to get a new towel for Lalli. 

**24th December, noon**

Emil popped out to the garden to get some fresh air. It was snowing lightly, and the new snow powdered the streets. The city sounded quiet already, most people were at home with their families making the final preparations. In the Västerström household this was not a silent activity, as the kids were besides themselves with excitement. They would be getting their gifts tonight and had marked difficulties to wait patiently. 

Lalli had woken early and taken off somewhere with a Yule sausage for his breakfast. Emil had been baking _julbröd_ (Yule bread, soft and slightly sweet bread spiced with Yule spices) with Siv. He loved fresh _julbröd_ so was happy to help make it. The five loaves were cooling on a rack by the kitchen window. Except that when Emil came back inside, there were only four loaves. 

Siv also walked into the kitchen and immediately noticed the suddenly four loaves. “What on earth is going on here?” she wondered aloud. “I have no idea” Emil answered. “Maybe your Finn has brought along some sort of a house spirit? Isn’t that what they believe in?” Siv teased him. “It must have been Bosse. Your cat has no respect!” Emil retorted. “Why would a cat steal a loaf of bread?” “How should I know. Maybe he likes the warmth?”. 

**24th December, evening**

Finally, all preparations were really finished and the Västerström family plus one gathered to the table. With the money made from the Denmark expedition, the feast was the best one in years. Three kinds of herring, smoked salmon and _gravlax_ were enjoyed with potatoes, bread and akvavit. After the fish came the meat. _Leverpastej_ , sausages, Yule ham and meatballs. 

Almost surprisingly, Lalli was happy with all the food. The strong smell of Yule _leverpastej_ (Nordic liver pate) made him frown at first, but Emil managed to talk him into trying it. He loved its smooth consistency on soft bread but didn’t want to try it on crisp bread (what is the point of having a smooth topping on a prickly bread??). Emil also had to show him the wonderful tradition of _dopp i grytan_ , dipping bread in the stock from the ham roasting, but when he got the idea, he absolutely loved it. 

Considering his thin frame, Lalli had surprising amounts of food. So much that Siv teased him a bit “Lalli, I’m glad to see you like the Yule dinner. Next course is _lutfisk_.” Lalli didn’t understand much, but apparently the Finn had heard of lutfisk – he looked terrified for a moment. Luckily, it was a joke. No _lutfisk_ for the Västerströms this year! 

When everybody was absolutely stuffed, it was time for cookies (well, maybe not _absolutely_ stuffed yet) and Yule gifts. Two packages had come by mail for Emil and Lalli. The big one was from Iceland and contained thick, luxurious sweaters for both of them. Torbjörn read the card aloud, translating into Swedish: “Thank you again for bringing my son back! Happy Yule!” from Reynir’s mum, and “Have a nice Yule! You still remember me, right? Hope to see you soon!” from Reynir himself. The sweaters were exactly the correct size, so much so that Emil suspected Sigríður had secretly taken their measurements back in Brúardalur. Lalli’s sweater was gray with a pattern of white snowflakes on dark blue background on the shoulders. Emil had the exact same pattern, but the background was dark red. 

The second package was smaller and hard. It contained a tin for each of them. They were accompanied by a card with a picture of a fish and the text “Happy Yule kids! Wanted to save you from the useless Swedish _lutfisk_. Did you know the most best _lutefisk_ in the world is made in Dalsnes! Have a good one! – Sigrun & Mikkel” This had apparently been written by Mikkel, since underneath was an addition in different and somewhat more haphazard handwriting: “p.s. Mikkel hasn’t made them, I swear. Safe to eat. -S” 

Siv and Torbjörn gave Lalli a big bag of sweets, and really nice soap scented with summer flowers for Emil. Emil gave them a beautiful table runner with a Finnish pattern, and Lalli presented a box of small cakes. “It’s the best thing he knows!” Emil laughed. “It means he wants to give you something nice.” Lalli settled for “Thank you and good Yule.” 

Lalli was holding his gifts in his hands and admiring the matching patterns of the sweaters. “You and me, one package!” he gave Emil a sweet smile. The team had learned they were together well before the others left Mora, but also Emil still felt warm to think that their friends considered him and Lalli a unit now. 

Emil’s gift to Lalli was a soft package. Upon opening it, Lalli found thick mittens with a pale gray on darker gray heart pattern on them. “It’s the softest lamb wool! Your hands are always freezing, I thought you could do with warmers!” Emil was excited to see whether Lalli would like his gift. Lalli put the mittens on. “Soft. Very warm. But…” he illustrated a problem by trying to put his hand into Emil’s hair. “Clumsy”. 

Emil had been waiting for this. “But see here!” he showed the long woolen cord attaching the mittens to each other. “You can wear this around your neck under your jacket, and then you can take the mitten off when needed! And it won’t go missing!” Lalli didn’t understand all of it, so Emil wrapped the cord around him, holding him in his arms for a while longer than absolutely necessary. Then he tugged one of the mittens off, and it was left dangling. “See? Not lost!” “Mm-hm, not lost! Good idea! Thank you, Emil!” Lalli put the mitten back on. 

Lalli gave Emil a tiny package. Inside was a piece of wood about the size of two of Emil’s thumbs. Upon closer inspection he saw that it was carved into two embracing figures. One had a smooth head with a hint of shoulder-length hair, and a large flower depicted on its back. The other one’s head appeared to have more uneven hair, and the cape it was wearing was decorated with small scratches, as if furry. The figures were stylished, but Emil had no problem making out who they were. “Lalli! It’s beautiful! Did you make it?” “Yes. I make. You like?” “It’s lovely!” “Good. Take it with you. Always. Keep close. I sing when I make it. Keep you safe." 

Siv and Torbjörn gave each other a look, but Siv asked to see the tiny statue. “I don’t know about your singing, but you surely are a craftsman. It really is beautiful, Lalli.” “Mmm-hm” Lalli sounded pleased. He even gave a shy little smile to Siv. _Lalli, smiling to Siv! Must be a Yule miracle!_ Emil thought to himself. _Or maybe it’s the akvavit._

The evening passed in merry enjoyment of eating and drinking thoroughly and the content of being safe, inside a comfortable and warm house, and surrounded by family. Lalli was napping in and out, with his head in Emil’s lap and the big mittens on his hands. Even the kids were too tired to be a nuisance after their excitement was doused by finally receiving the long-awaited gifts. _So, I do have a real family after all,_ Emil thought in his tired by happy haze. 

**24th – 25th December, night**

Sometime after the boys had retreated to their bed, Emil suddenly woke with a strange lonely feeling. He opened his eyes just in time to see Lalli exit through the window. What now? Emil wasn’t really worried, he was already used to Lalli feeling the call of the night every now and then, even here in the city. Still, Emil didn’t want to spend the Yule night in a lonely bed, so he got up briskly, put on his clothes and went outside. Lalli’s footprints were visible in the newly fallen snow, so Emil had no trouble following him. 

Emil wasn’t at all surprised to see that Lalli’s trail led towards the small forested park near the edge of the city. He often wandered there, because he “needed the trees” as he had tried to explain. Soon enough Emil arrived at the edge of the small woods. He saw firelight through the trees. Had Lalli built a fire? Creeping closer, Emil saw that there were actually four fires. Three were arranged along a semicircular curve formed of downtrodden snow. The fourth has a bit further out from the others, closest to Emil who was approaching through the trees. Lalli was sitting on a log next to the fourth fire.>

Behind the curved path and three fires, there was something in the snow. In the flickering light of the fires and two tall candles stuck into the snowdrift, Emil saw that there was something resembling a feast. Sweets, cookies, a full loaf of bread, some sausages and meatballs… the feast was laid out on a fine white cloth and decorated with a string with little stars on it. So that’s what happened with his towel, Emil thought in the middle of his surprise. 

Lalli spoke to him quietly, without turning. “Come. Sit with me. Don’t cross the other fires. Be what be. No crossing.” Emil sat next to Lalli on the log. There was a nice and warm sheep hide under Lalli, and another one for him to sit on. “Did you know I was coming?” Emil whispered. “I guess… and I hope”. Lalli took Emil’s hand. He was still wearing his new mittens. 

“So, what’s going on? Why…” “Shhh. You quiet. I sing.” Lalli straightened his back and started singing. His voice was quiet, and he sung unaccompanied, but still the song had power that filled the entire clearing. Emil couldn’t understand a word of it, but he recognized it as a runo. The song sounded pleading at first and then turned into a lament. Singing it brought Lalli to tears. The sorrow in Lalli’s voice, the tears on his cheeks and something ineffable in the air influenced Emil too, and soon his tears were flowing as well. Somewhere in the middle of the alien words of sorrow, Emil thought he heard Lalli mention Tuuri. 

After the lament had gone on for what to Emil seemed a very long time, the song changed again. It again took on the note of a plea, then went on to petition, then to demand. Final part sounded like an exclamation of joy. Lalli wasn’t crying any more, his face was full of happy expectation. 

Emil had already figured out he was in the middle of some kind of a ritual, but he still had no idea what to expect. He sat quietly, holding Lalli’s hand. Gradually he noticed that the three fires were burning lower and lower, although there was still plenty of wood left. Suddenly they extinguished simultaneously, and immediately flared up again, now with eldritch blue fire. The candles stayed their normal colour, but seemed to provide much more light than before. Lalli whispered very quietly, direct to his ear “They come. No move. Quiet.” 

Now there was a new light at the far end of the opening formed of the three now blue fires and the curved path in the snow. Several (Emil couldn’t make out how many) figures consisting of a faint, bluish light appeared to arrive from the woods. They reminded Emil somewhat of how Reynir had described the evil ghosts they had met in Denmark, except that where those ghosts had apparently been like shadows condensed to a deeper blackness in the middle, these shapes were formed of light. The light grew stronger as the figures approached, but they didn’t look any more solid. They gathered around the feast Lalli had lain out for them. 

Lalli stood up and spoke to them in Finnish, in what sounded like joyful greeting. Then he stepped next to the nearest of the blue fires and took a small flask from his jacket. He opened it and poured some liquid into the fire, which flared brighter for a second. _Torbjörn’s good akvavit,_ Emil guessed. 

Lalli’s tone turned more conversational. He appeared to narrate, ask questions and listen for answers. Emil saw the figures flickering more or less in place but didn’t hear any other sound besides Lalli’s words. Then Lalli clearly mentioned Tuuri’s name, and then Emil’s own, followed by the rest of their team members. After a pause, Lalli said something about Kisu, which was the name the Finns had called Kitty (well, mostly Tuuri had), and Mikkel again. 

Then Lalli was almost pleading again. He seemed to explain something emphatically. Suddenly he spoke to Emil in Swedish: “Come”. He pushed the bottle into Emil’s hand and told him “Do same. Put into fire.” Emil poured a drop. “Put all!” so he carefully let all the remaining good akvavit flow into the fire, again brightening momentarily. 

Looking up, he suddenly saw the figures much more clearly. They were shaped like humans, but were translucent, made completely of light. Some of them were distantly familiar, but there was one he knew well. “Tuuri!” Emil exclaimed, flabberghasted. “Hi Emil!” Tuuri was chattering in Swedish. “How are you doing? I hear you and Lalli finally found each other! Good for you guys! I’d love to hear more, but we don’t have much time here. Could you tell everyone I said hello, I’m not sure Lalli will do that. Also, were you all very sad? I’m sure you understand why I had to…” Emil was too amazed to get a word in, but finally he managed to greet the see-through-Tuuri and promised to pass on the hello. “I’m so sorry I can’t tell you much, but the Swan really is very big! And you know, it’s not too bad, especially after you get used to it. But sorry, I’m blabbering, now it’s your turn!” 

Confused, Emil stammered “My turn?” but Lalli was on it already. He took Emil’s hand again and placed it over his heart. He spoke in Finnish again, and this time Emil heard echoes of the answering voices. Suddenly he was filled with a warm feeling of good will and acceptance towards him, flooding from the figures of light. Two of them, a woman and a man who looked quite like Onni, turned to him in greeting. “Don’t touch!” Lalli whispered to him urgently. Thus Emil bowed to them, and they bowed back. 

The light figures started to fade. The echoes brought words to Emil’s ears. _“Lalli-Lullukka”_ was uttered in a female voice full of love. Lalli whispered _“Hei hei äiti”_. But the last thing he said was something about Emil. 

Suddenly the light people vanished, and the fires burned yellow again. The foods were gone, and a brief scent of burning food filled the air. Emil noticed that the string of stars had appeared on his and Lalli’s shoulders, tying them gently together. The towel remained, although crumbled. 

While they were waiting for the fires to burn out to be able to get the towel back, Emil questioned Lalli. “So, it really was you! All the weird things. You planned this for a while, didn’t you?” “Must have Yule! For Ancestors!” “But why steal? Why didn’t you just ask?” “Swedes. Heathens. You not believe.” “Well, I suppose Siv and Torbjörn don’t… but still, you would have got what you needed, if you’d asked!” 

“Oh, and by the way, what did you say about me?” “I say you my boyfriend. You nice and beautiful and brave. You make fire, kill trolls. Also… fire in me.” Emil blushed, as sweet happy thoughts filled his mind. “How did they take it?” “They like you. You not notice? My mom like you?” “I suppose I did… I felt it too.” 

“What was that last thing? The final words you said to them were about me as well.” “I just say don’t take towel, for Emil. He say this best towel.” “Oh no! You didn’t! I didn’t know why you had taken it!” “You like it. You always should have things you like.” 

“Ooh, Lalli, I like you! You are so sweet and good to me.” “I know. Let’s go home. Give more Yule gift. Me.” Now they both blushed in anticipation and excitement. The fires were out, and they collected the towel. They had to remove the string of stars from around them, but they carried it in their hands, clasped tight, still connecting them. As they made their way back to the house, the night was freezing as the weather had cleared up, but Emil felt warm. 

**Author's Note:**

> Lalli's "Hei hei äiti" means bye bye mum


End file.
